LA Times Crossword 9 Apr 24, Tuesday

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Constructed by: Zachary David Levy
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Reveal Answer: Bookend

Themed answers each include circled letters at either END, letters that spell out a synonym of “BOOK”:

• 33A One of a pair on a library shelf, as well as one of a pair in each set of circled letters : BOOKEND

• 17A Garlic bread option : TEXAS TOAST (giving “TEXT”)
• 22A Column of super-heated ash and sulfur dioxide during an eruption : VOLCANIC PLUME (giving “VOLUME”)
• 44A Nightshade relish : TOMATO COMPOTE (giving “TOME”)
• 51A Reading on a decibel meter : NOISE LEVEL (giving “NOVEL”)

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 6m 29s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

7 PC key below ∼ : TAB

Like most features on our computer keyboards, the tab key is a hangover from the days of typewriters. When using a typewriter, making entries into a table was very tedious, involving lots of tapping on the spacebar and backspace key. So, a lever was added to typewriters that allowed the operator to “jump” across the page to positions that could be set by hand. Later this was simplified to a tab key which could be depressed, causing the carriage to jump to the next tab stop in much the same way that the modern tab key works on a computer.

14 Calm and Restore skin care brand : AVEENO

Aveeno is a manufacturer of skincare and haircare products that was founded in 1945. The name Aveeno comes from the Latin name for the common oat, i.e. Avena sativa.

16 Valley west of Sacramento : NAPA

The first commercial winery in Napa Valley, California was established way back in 1858. However, premium wine production only dates back to the 1960s, with the region really hitting the big time after its success at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. The story of that famous blind wine tasting is told in the entertaining 2008 film “Bottle Shock”.

Sacramento, California’s state capital, was named for the Sacramento River. The river was named by a Spanish explorer, who called it “Rio de los Sacramentos”. This translates as “River of the Blessed Sacrament”.

17 Garlic bread option : TEXAS TOAST (giving “TEXT”)

Texas toast is made from toasted, sliced bread that is about double the usual thickness of sliced, packaged bread. It is prepared by simply spreading butter onto both sides and grilling until golden brown. Variants might include garlic in the butter, or the addition of cheese to one or both sides.

19 Site with a Craft Supplies section : ETSY

Etsy.com was founded in 2005 as a way for artists and craftspeople to sell their handmade goods online, and has since grown to include vintage items and crafting supplies as well. The company’s name is derived from the Italian word “etsi,” which means “oh, yes”? This was a nod to founder Rob Kalin’s love of Italy and his appreciation for the country’s history and artistry.

20 “Spider-Man” trilogy director Sam : RAIMI

Sam Raimi is a very successful director and producer. He was behind the “Spider-Man” series of films among others, and TV shows such as “Xena: Warrior Princess”. In 1993, Raimi married Gillian Green, the youngest daughter of actor Lorne Greene of “Bonanza” fame. Raimi and Greene named their eldest son Lorne, after his grandfather.

21 “Come on down!” announcer Johnny : OLSON

Johnny Olson was the announcer on “The Price is Right” from day one in 1972, until he passed away in 1985. Come on down!

26 Statistician Silver : NATE

Nate Silver is a statistician who gained celebrity by developing a forecasting system that predicted the future performance of baseball players. He then made a name for himself in the world of politics by predicting the outcome of the 2008 US presidential race on his website FiveThirtyEight.com. Silver successfully predicted the outcome of the election in 49 of the 50 states, missing out on Indiana, which Barack Obama won by less than 1% of the vote. FiveThirtyEight was less successful in predicting the specifics of the 2012 presidential election, but came closer than almost all other pollsters. In 2016, FiveThirtyEight predicted a victory for Hillary Clinton, but with a much lower probability than other poll aggregators. And, they all got it wrong. Oh, and why the name FiveThirtyEight.com? Because there are 538 electors in the US electoral college.

36 Joey pal of Piglet : ROO

In Australia, male kangaroos are known by several names including bucks, boomers, jacks or old men. Females are called does, flyers, or jills. There seems to be just one name for young kangaroos, i.e. joeys. A group of kangaroos might be called a mob, troop or court.

41 Broad neckties : ASCOTS

An ascot is a wide tie that narrows at the neck, which these days is only really worn at weddings or part of a dress uniform. The tie takes its name from the Royal Ascot horse race at which punters still turn up in formal wear at Ascot Racecourse in England.

44 Nightshade relish : TOMATO COMPOTE (giving “TOME”)

The nightshade family of plants, also known as Solanaceae, is a diverse group of plants that includes many popular crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplants. However, other members of the nightshade family are known for their poisonous or psychoactive properties. For example, the deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) contains a toxin that can cause hallucinations, delirium, and even death if ingested in sufficient quantities.

A compote is a fruit mixture stewed in syrup. The word “compote” comes to us from French and has the same etymology as our word “compost”! “Composte” is an Old French word for “mixture”.

48 Geological period : EPOCH

Geologic time is divided into a number of units of varying lengths. These are, starting from the largest:

• supereon
• eon (also “aeon”)
• era
• period
• epoch
• age

50 Casual get-together : SESH

Session (abbreviated to “sess.” formally, and “sesh” informally)

51 Reading on a decibel meter : NOISE LEVEL (giving “NOVEL”)

In the world of acoustics, one bel is equal to ten decibels (dBs). The bel is named in honor of the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell.

56 Elm or ash : TREE

Elm trees have a unique ability to tolerate urban environments, making them a popular choice for city planners looking to add greenery to their landscapes. They have a high tolerance for air pollution, compacted soil, and other stresses commonly found in urban areas, which allows them to thrive in these environments where other tree species might struggle.

The wood of the ash tree is hardwood, although it is relatively elastic. Famously, ash is the wood of choice for baseball bats. It is also the wood of choice for hurleys, the wooden sticks used in the Irish sport of hurling.

60 18-wheeler : RIG

An 18-wheeler semi-trailer truck has eight wheels under the trailer, i.e. four on each of the two rear axles. There are 10 wheels under the tractor unit. Two of the ten wheels are on the front axle, and eight are on the rear two axles that sit under the front of the trailer.

Down

3 Superman foe Luthor : LEX

Lex Luthor is the nemesis of Superman in comics. Luthor has been portrayed in a number of guises in the comic world as well in movies and on the small screen. For example, he appeared as Atom Man in the 1950 film series “Atom Man vs. Superman”, and was played by actor Lyle Talbot, opposite Kirk Alyn’s Superman.

4 Jack Black film with the tagline “Meet your ancestors” : YEAR ONE

“Year One” is a 2009 comedy adventure film starring Jack Black and Michael Cera as two cavemen. They get banished from their tribe, and head for the city of Sodom. The movie is a parody of the Bible’s Book of Genesis, and so the pair encounter characters such as Cain and Abel, and Abraham and Isaac.

10 Herman whose chart is topped with a giant “E” : SNELLEN

The commonly used eye chart (that starts with the letters “E FP TOZ LPED”) is called a Snellen chart. The test is named after its developer Herman Snellen, who introduced it way back in 1862.

11 Panko-breaded chicken dish : KATSU

“Katsuretsu” (also just “katsu”) is a dish from Japanese cuisine that resembles a Wiener schnitzel from Viennese cuisine. Katsu is a breaded meat cutlet.

Panko is a breadcrumb used in some Japanese cuisine, primarily as a crunchy coating for fried foods.

12 __ salts: bathwater additive : EPSOM

The Surrey town of Epsom in England is most famous for its racecourse (Epsom Downs), at which the Epsom Derby is run every year, one of the three races that make up the English Triple Crown. We also come across “Epsom salts” from time to time. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, originally prepared by boiling down mineral waters. Epsom was indeed a spa town at one time. The town is also home to Epsom College, an English “public school” (which actually means “private, and expensive”). One of Epsom’s “old boys” was the Hollywood actor Stewart Granger.

13 Hockey Hall of Famer Gretzky : WAYNE

Wayne Gretzky is regarded by many as the greatest ever player of ice hockey, and indeed he has the nickname “The Great One”.

18 Actor Sharif : OMAR

Omar Sharif was a great Hollywood actor from Egypt, someone who played major roles in memorable movies such as “Doctor Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia”. But to me, he was my bridge hero (referring to the card game). In his heyday, Sharif was one of the best bridge players in the world.

22 Starbucks size : VENTI

Starbucks introduced us to coffee drinks in a whole range of volumes:

• Demi … 3 fl oz
• Short … 8 fl oz
• Tall … 12 fl oz
• Grande … 16 fl oz (Italian for “large”)
• Venti … 20 fl oz (Italian for “twenty”)
• Trenta … 30 fl oz (Italian for “thirty”)

24 Abel’s brother : CAIN

In the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis, Cain murders his brother Abel. Subsequently, God asks Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” Cain replies, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

25 Battery unit : VOLT

The volt is a unit of electric potential, or voltage. I always think of electrical voltage as something like water pressure. The higher the pressure of water (voltage), the faster the water flows (the higher the electric current that flows).

31 Ellipsis element : DOT

An ellipsis (plural “ellipses”) is a series of dots (usually three) used to indicate an omission in some text. The term comes from the Greek word “élleipsis”, which means “omission”.

34 Anise-flavored aperitif : OUZO

Ouzo is an apéritif from Greece that is colorless and flavored with anise. Ouzo is similar to French pastis and Italian sambuca. All three liqueurs turn cloudy with the addition of water.

35 Cartel whose “O” does not stand for “oil” : OPEC

A cartel is a group of independent businesses that cooperate to regulate production, pricing and marketing of their common product(s).

38 Kitchen invaders : ROACHES

The insect known as a cockroach is closely related to the termite. Although generally considered a pest, the lowly cockroach has at least one claim to fame. A cockroach named Nadezhda was sent into space in 2007 by Russian scientists, where it became the first terrestrial creature to give birth in space. Nadezhda bore 33 cockroaches.

41 Part of a basic Latin conjugation : AMAS

“Amo, amas, amat” translates from Latin as “I love, you love, he/she/it loves”.

42 Showroom pitches : SPIELS

A spiel is a lengthy speech or argument designed to persuade, like a sales pitch. “Spiel” comes to us from German, either directly (“spiel” is the German for “play”) or via the Yiddish “shpil”.

43 Dog with a strong herding instinct : COLLIE

The collie isn’t actually a breed of dog, but rather the name given to a group of herding dogs that originated in Scotland and Northern England. An obvious (and wonderful) example would be the border collie. Many dogs classed as collies don’t have the word “collie” in the name of the breed, for example the old English sheepdog and the Shetland sheepdog.

44 Battery units? : TESTS

Tests often come in batteries, as in “a battery of tests”.

45 Verdi composition : OPERA

Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer, mainly of operas, who was active during the Romantic era. Equally as famous as Verdi’s operas, are arias and choruses from those operas such as “La donna è mobile” from “Rigoletto”, “The Drinking Song” from “La Traviata” and “The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” from “Nabucco”. Verdi was a big fan of William Shakespeare and wrote three operas based on the Bard’s plays: “Macbeth”, “Otello” and “Falstaff”.

51 Steve Inskeep’s network : NPR

Broadcast journalist Steve Inskeep joined NPR in 1996. In 2004, he took over as co-host of the network’s popular “Morning Edition” news program.

53 Sue Grafton’s “__ for Vengeance” : V IS

Sue Grafton wrote detective novels, and her “alphabet series” features the private investigator Kinsey Millhone. She started off with “’A’ Is for Alibi” in 1982 and worked her way up to “‘Y’ is for Yesterday” before she passed away in 2017.